Two Hearts, One Status Quo
by kg1507
Summary: Alternate Universe: Troy Bolton is the new guy at EH, Gabriella is the most popular girl in school and the star actress in all the musicals. What will happen when these two worlds collide? TxG
1. The New Student

Hey everyone!!! Yes, I know, it's been FOREVER since I've put a new story on here, but school has had me absolutely swamped. I've barely had any time to write at all, which makes me really sad... but, good news is that I have a week off starting tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to get one or two more chapters up in that span of time. This is my second actual story - not sure how it'll do compared to "Out of Our Control" (which anyone who hasn't read yet should! lol) but hopefully I'll be able to make it interesting enough. So, read and review, and PM me if you have questions! Thanks!**

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**Chapter 1: The New Student**

_Locker fourteen. Twenty-six left, thirteen right, turn left to five. Come on, work! _The tall, lean, shaggy-haired boy thought to himself as he tried to open his locker door once again. Glancing down at the folded paper in his left hand, he checked the combination number for the third time. Looking back up, he twisted the knob to its appropriate places and said a short prayer as he went to pull on the handle. Nothing. Closing his eyes with mounting frustration, the boy set his bag down to the side and re-read the piece of paper. It was just as he'd feared… his first day of school was already sucking, just like all the last ones.

_

* * *

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_Earlier that morning…_

"Son, you got everything?" A muscular, well-built man asked as he placed a black briefcase in the back seat of a dark blue SUV.

The boy sighed. "Yeah…" He said in a very unenthusiastic tone. He shifted his book bag around his shoulder and glumly stared at the car door of the passenger's side.

The man looked up and then did a double take. His shoulders slumped a few inches and he hung his head for a moment before lifting it and making his way around the car to his son.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're still upset about us moving again?" He asked. "I thought you were over that by now."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Moving isn't what bothers me, dad. It's starting school for the _fourth_ time this year… I was just starting to get used to Sun High." He spoke in an undertone.

The boy's father paused before walking up to his son and placing both hands on his shoulders. The boy didn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry, son." He said gently. "I know that it's been hard for you, having to keep starting over every few months. But look at the bright side - it's the last new beginning for us. I promise, no more moving around."

At this, the boy looked up. "Promise?"

His father nodded with a slight smile. "East High is a pretty big school. You're bound to make friends. And just think - you can be _anybody_ you want to be there. No one knows who you are yet." And with a clap on the back, he strode over to the driver's side of the car and got in, starting up the engine.

The boy shifted his bag again and followed suit, his head positioned downwards, where his mood had suddenly dropped.

_What if I can't be anything else than… just, me?_

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* * *

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_Present_

Gritting his teeth, the boy pulled on his locker handle one more time. When it didn't budge, a short burst of anger took hold of him and he banged a closed fist on the door. He hadn't even gotten to his first class yet and he already hated it here.

To his immediate surprise, the locker door sprang open and almost hit him in the face. Sighing with relief, he pulled his bag off the floor and placed it at the bottom of his locker and began to unpack his stuff. He was about half-way done when a loud bell echoed throughout the hallways, startling him. Doors all around burst open and a steady flow of students emerged, rushing in all directions to their own lockers.

The boy's head snapped up as he watched, and then realized that he too had places to be. He withdrew his head out of the locker and raised his schedule closer to his eyes, trying to make out the tiny handwriting. Turning to his left, he faced the student next to him.

"Excuse me, um, c-could you tell me where, umm…" He checked the paper again. "English with Ms. Darbus - " But as soon as he'd looked up, the student was gone. Glancing around quickly, he looked for someone else to assist him. Everyone was moving so fast, he could hardly make out one specific person.

He hastily grabbed a binder off the locker shelf and slammed the door shut, clutching it to his side as he anxiously looked for room 206.

"Excuse me, could you - " He tried to ask to a very small girl weaving in and out of the crowd. She was gone before he could finish his sentence.

"Hey, do you know where - " Again, no luck.

"Mrs. Darbus's class?" No one was listening to him. He might as well have been invisible.

Standing completely still, he squinted his eyes at a door, trying to see it's numbers. Room 109. So that meant he had to go a floor up.

Thankful that he had at least some idea of where to go, he began walking down the hallway, trying not to bump into people rushing past. Mixed conversations filled his ears; the next basketball game, some girl who'd hooked up with the soccer captain last weekend, excited chatter about what people had done during winter break. There didn't seem to be one person who wasn't talking about something to someone.

Lost in his thoughts, the boy abruptly realized that he had come across a dead end. Turning back around and wondering what to do now, another bell rang and the hallway quickly thinned out. Classroom doors closed, late students began to sprint, and the muffled sound of teachers beginning their next lessons could be heard. As the boy looked around, clutching his binder and schedule in each hand, he suddenly felt very alone - and it had nothing to do with the vacant hallway.

* * *

The slender, brunette girl blithely twirled her pencil between her two fingers with her head up against her fist. A sigh escaped her as people began to file into the classroom and head towards their seats. She watched with mild interest, slipping into her thoughts before too long. Mainly, they were thoughts concerning sleep. She longed for her bed, her warm downy blanket, her soft pillows… but no. He'd kept her up late again, even after he'd promised not to.

"Hey Gabriella!" A chipper voice said, bringing the girl back to the present. She lifted her head up and smiled at the petite blonde standing in front of her.

"Hey, Sharpay." Gabriella said, unable to muster up very much excitement. Not long after she'd uttered that sentence, another girl entered the room and made a beeline for Gabriella. "Hey, Taylor…" Gabriella said, forcing down a yawn.

"Hey guys, what's up? Taylor asked as she sat down in the seat behind Gabriella while Sharpay took the one next to her.

"Not much…" Gabriella replied as her eyes fluttered shut for a quick moment. It wasn't quick enough for her best friends not to notice, however.

"Gabs, what's wrong with you?" Sharpay asked, waving her hand in front of her face. "You look half dead!"

"Were you and Andrew on the phone all night again?" Taylor asked with a knowing smile.

Gabriella nodded, trying to feign happiness concerning the whole situation. Inside though, an uncomfortable weight had dropped into her stomach. How much longer was she going to be able to keep the fact that she wasn't as happy with her relationship as she let on a secret?

"That is so sweet!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Gabriella, you are so lucky to have a guy who is willing to stay up all night just to talk to you. It makes me wish I hadn't broken up with Jason…"

Taylor stared at her. "Sharpay, Jason was cheating on you with two other girls."

Sharpay just rolled her eyes and turned towards Gabriella again. "So, anyway, musical tryouts are this Friday. What part are you trying out for?"

For as long as anyone could remember, Gabriella and Sharpay had always dazzled the audience with their acting skills while Taylor made all the scenery and set props for each performance. Sharpay and Gabriella had starred in practically all the musicals ever put on, but none of them were more addicted to the stage than Gabriella. She loved the feeling, the lights, the crowd watching her shine… she couldn't get enough of it.

Gabriella thought to herself for a second. "Probably Minnie. I heard it's a tough role, and you guys know me - I'm always up for a challenge."

Sharpay nodded. "Me too. But guys, we have to promise that if one of us gets the part, we're not going to hate each other because of it."

"Of course not." Gabriella said with a reassuring smile. "I could never hate you guys over something like that."

"Ok, now that that's settled - come on, spill! Tell us what Andrew wanted to talk about last night, Gabriella!" Taylor said quickly as her and Sharpay focused their attentions on Gabriella.

Gabriella immediately felt a chill go down her spine, and it was not the good kind. "Not much, really… nothing important." She hated lying to her best friends, but what choice did she have? They'd never believe her if she told them the truth…

Luckily, the late bell rang, saving Gabriella from continuing the unsought conversation. She gave Sharpay and Taylor a quick smile before turning around in her seat to face the front, where their English teacher, Ms. Darbus, was getting ready to begin class.

She cleared her throat with an air of importance and stood up as straight as a board, adjusting her glasses on her face before continuing.

"Well, welcome back to English 11, class. I hope you all had good winter breaks, and I'm sure you would like nothing more than to hear me say that your first day back will be free of homework." Ms. Darbus said. As students looked up with hopeful eyes, she smirked.

"Unfortunately, I must inform you that your wish will not come true. Holidays are over, people, and now it's time to continue with this wonderful subject." She paused for a brief moment, and then continued.

"In other news - "

Suddenly, the door opened, making a loud creaking noise that could be heard throughout the whole classroom. Ms. Darbus turned her head, looking as if she'd been rudely interrupted by a disrespectful student.

"Can I help you?" She asked briskly.

The door opened another inch or two, and then stopped after the creaking noise sounded again. A few students looked up, and others shifted in their seats, trying to see who was concealed behind the solid wood.

"Um… is this English 11?" A diffident voice spoke. More students (mostly girls now) had looked up, realizing that the somebody behind the door was a boy.

"Yes, and who are - Oh! Oh, you must be the new student! Come in boy, come in, don't be shy." Ms. Darbus ejaculated with all hint of petulance gone.

After a second, the door opened to it's extent, and revealed the full body of the boy. Every pair of eyes in the room was looking at him now, and a few girls were eying him with a satisfied sort of look. Every eye was on him, except one particular set.

Gabriella's eyes were glued to her purse, where her cell phone had vibrated violently only a moment ago. As she flipped it open, she quickly blazed through the text message and forced down a sigh of annoyance. It was from Andrew, and he was asking her why she hadn't answered his previous message. As she began to write a short reply, Ms. Darbus cleared her throat, which caused Gabriella to freeze with fear. If Ms. Darbus caught her with a cell phone _again_…

"Class," Ms. Darbus began, and Gabriella immediately defrosted. She wasn't in trouble. To be on the safe side though, she raised her head to look at the front of the class where Ms. Darbus was standing. When she did, however, she found herself frozen again. But this time, it was not out of fear.

He was an ordinary boy, but somehow, unordinary. He was tall, but not lanky. He had muscles, but they weren't bulging out of his body. His hair was a medium-colored brown, and his eyes… she was a little more than six feet away from him, and yet she knew that they were the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. He stood with one arm hugging his binder to his side while the other was pressed against his leg, and his eyes kept shifting from the floor to around the room - like a small animal trying to find somewhere to escape. A strange, enigmatic feeling imbued her - something she couldn't quite explain.

"We have a new student joining us today." Ms. Darbus finished. She turned to look at him. "What did you say your name was?"

The boy cleared his throat, and then raised his eyes a little before speaking in a reticent voice. "Troy… Troy Bolton."


	2. A Friendly Face Maybe?

**Chapter 2: A Friendly Face… Maybe?**

"Welcome to East High, Mr. Bolton. If you would kindly take a seat wherever one is available, I was just informing the class of today's announcements." Ms. Darbus said kindly as she gave Troy a bright smile - a smile that was very rarely seen by her students.

Troy quickly scanned the room, looking for an empty seat, and then stopped as his eyes rested on the one right in front of him. For a second, his eyes connected with Gabriella's and she felt a distinct jump in the pit of her stomach, instantly wondering what was going on with her.

Troy too suddenly felt a tad bit nervous, noticing how pretty this girl was and slightly afraid of what she was thinking when her eyes had met his. He was used to being judged at first glance by his previous peers, and had developed a habit of wondering how others saw him. He quietly walked forward with his eyes to the floor, knowing that everyone was still watching him. Hurriedly sitting down in his seat, he caught another glance of the girl, who was still watching him with an intrigued sort of look on her face. Half pleased and half apprehensive, Troy awkwardly folded his arms across his chest as Ms. Darbus began to speak again.

"Now, as I was saying - the winter musical tryouts are rapidly approaching us, people! I do hope that more of you will find your inner bravery and show me what you've got. Don't forget - "

Gabriella could barely hear what Ms. Darbus was saying, even though she knew it had something to do with the musical; her passion. For some odd reason, she couldn't seem to focus on anything other than the back of the new student's head... Troy, was it? She could just see the side of his face turned towards Ms. Darbus. What was it about him that seemed so familiar?

"Gabriella? Did you hear that?" Taylor suddenly whispered.

Gabriella was thrust back into the present and turned towards Taylor with a confused expression on her face. "Huh?" She asked stupidly.

"The musical tryouts? Friday afternoon at three-thirty?" Taylor said.

It took a moment for Gabriella to process this, but then nodded. "Oh, yeah, I… I heard…" Troy had turned his head ever-so slightly, and she could see his striking features even clearer than before.

Taylor noticed her distraction. "Gabs? What are you looking at?"

"I'll tell you what she's looking at." Sharpay spoke, staring straight ahead at Troy with a suggestive smile. "And I must say that I completely agree with her."

Gabriella turned in her seat to face Sharpay, feeling her face grow warm. "What are you talking about? I'm not - I don't - I have…" Um… what was his name again?

"Let us continue with our new unit, shall we?" Ms. Darbus announced as she pulled out a very large navy-blue textbook from underneath her desk. She walked over to Troy and placed it on top of his desk, where it made a soft 'thump.' She pulled out another somewhat larger text-book from a drawer and flipped open to a page towards the middle, looking it over quickly before speaking again.

"'This above all: To thine own self be true.' Does anyone know who said that famous quote?" Ms. Darbus asked. She looked around the room, which had suddenly gone completely soundless. You could almost hear the soft hum of silence bouncing off the walls as Ms. Darbus searched for a willing participant. To her dismay, not one person seemed to be paying any attention now that the actual lesson had begun. A few students were fiddling with pens or pencils on their desks, some were reaching into their purses (no doubt playing with those frivolous cell phones), and others were just staring off into space, lost in their own little dream worlds.

"Anyone? Anyone at all?" Ms. Darbus asked with a hint of a plea in her voice. From what Troy could make out of it, there weren't very many people who particularly enjoyed English class, let alone many who actually participated during the fifty-minute allotted span of time.

"Come now, there must be _someone_ in here who knows the quote! It's not _that_ difficult!" Ms. Darbus exclaimed.

Troy's hand timidly rose into the air, and Ms. Darbus's face transformed into a mixture of surprise and relief. "Yes, Mr. Bolton?"

Troy swallowed nervously, wondering if he should mutter the wrong answer to save his skin from undetermined humiliation.

"Shakespeare." He muttered quietly.

Some of the students turned to look at him, and Troy didn't meet their eyes, afraid of what he might see. Ms. Darbus looked completely astounded that someone had volunteered to answer a question, and then actually give the correct answer.

"Very good, Mr. Bolton," Ms. Darbus said. "And who can tell me what play this quote comes from?"

Again, Troy found his hand climbing up, up, up, with a mind of its own and completely ignoring the yelling of his brain which pleaded him to stop before it was too late.

"Hamlet." Troy said in the same tone as Ms. Darbus looked at him appraisingly.

It was then that Troy realized that he had definitely made a mistake. Students were no longer staring at him, but instead had turned to their neighbors and begun whispering while glancing in his direction every now and again with little smirks on their faces. A few giggled, and Troy's insides burned. He instantly knew that he was being made fun of.

Two seats behind him, Sharpay gave a little noise of disappointment and tapped Gabriella on the shoulder.

"Great," She whispered. "He's a freak. Smartness is _such_ a turn-off…"

"What was that, Ms. Evans?" Ms. Darbus asked sharply with a disapproving frown and ice-cold eyes.

Sharpay seemed to stiffen for a moment, but then regained composure. She casually pushed her light blonde hair behind her ear and conjured up a fake grin that was just believable enough to pass as a real smile.

"I was only saying that… it's so nice to have someone in the class who can grasp the - the full fascination of English, and someone who's so… intelligent. Maybe he'll rub off on a few of us." Sharpay finished with the same smile plastered on her face.

Ms. Darbus stared down at her for another moment, and then nodded her head. "Yes… that's what I _thought_ you said… We will begin to read Shakespeare's "Hamlet" over the next few weeks and then progress to more of his other fabulous works, advancing to -"

Sharpay tapped Gabriella on the shoulder again. When she turned around, she was astonished to see a cunning little smirk on her face. Sharpay raised her eyebrows a few inches and inclined her head towards the back of Troy's head, rolling her eyes with an air of annoyance as she did so. Gabriella gave her a fake smile and nodded, although she felt her stomach grow sick as she did so. Turning back around in her seat, Gabriella felt a very odd emotion rouse inside of her as she gazed at Troy.

He had slunk down into his seat, almost as if trying to disappear into the floor. The back of his neck was bright red, as were his ears. He shifted his head slightly, and Gabriella could make out a dark pink coloring his cheeks. Her heart went out to this poor guy - Sharpay had meant nothing of the sort, calling him 'intelligent', and obviously Troy had picked up the hint as well. A touch of anger pulsed through Gabriella. Troy hadn't done anything to deserve that kind of treatment. It was just his first day!

Suddenly, Gabriella was filled with confusion and perplexity. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be caring so much about some new guy who'd been embarrassed in class. She didn't have the time - not with the musical tryouts coming up so quickly. He wasn't her problem. Gabriella knew that he'd just have to learn on his own what would happen if he kept up this little 'smart' act he had going on.

Besides… it wasn't her place to intervene. And soon enough, she knew, this 'Troy guy' would learn about the most important rules of all - the rules that had run the entire school for as long as anyone could remember: The rules of the Status Quo.

* * *

By fourth period, Troy had begun to seriously consider skipping the rest of the day and catch a bus ride home. Maybe if he worked up a good enough excuse, he wouldn't get in trouble…but no… he knew his parents wouldn't buy anything he came up with, no matter how foolproof it might've been. Nevertheless, he had trouble keeping the urge to jump up and run remain in the pit of his stomach.

Ever since first period, people had been looking at him strangely and whispering to others. People he didn't even know were treating him like the plague - people he hadn't even _had_ first period with. They all gave him the same looks, the same little smirks… and for what reason, Troy did not know. Now that he really thought about it, all he did was answer a few English questions… what was the big deal?

Troy pushed open the door that led him to Mr. Dallas's geometry class. Trying to avoid the pairs of eyes that had now landed on him, he picked the first empty seat he saw and quickly sat down, keeping his eyes to the floor all the while. A girl giggled from behind, and Troy wondered if she was laughing at him too.

The bell rang a few moments later, although it felt like hours to Troy, and a man just barely taller than Troy who must've been Mr. Dallas walked up to the front of the class with a large pile of papers in his hands. He did not look happy.

A disappointed, cross expression covered his face as he held the pile of papers in front of his chest and tapped his finger against them for a few seconds, waiting for his class to quiet down. When they did, he began to speak.

"Your quizzes from last week were… how can I put this nicely? _Appalling._ There were only three B's among the thirty of you, and only _one_ A. The rest of you failed. May I ask why this is?" He said with a hint of what appeared to be a very tired tone.

"We have gone over, and over, and _over_ this material for two weeks, people! What does it take to get through those thick little heads of yours and make you pay attention to what I'm trying to teach you?" It was, of course, a rhetorical question, but he still wished he could know the answer. Midterms were at the end of the month, and his students needed to be ready.

"I've decided to allow you to work in pairs of two, where you will work on this worksheet, and hand it in to me when it's complete. This _will_ be graded, so make sure you don't pick a partner who you know will distract you." With this, he counted out sheets of paper and gave them to the first person of each row, who passed one back to the person behind them.

When Troy got his paper, he reached behind him without looking and handed back the last sheet. His eyes swam across the page, and to his immense relief, he found the materiel familiar to him. The sounds of scraping desks against the tile floor echoed throughout the class as people moved towards their desired partners, causing Troy to look up. All the desks that had been around him were gone, so that he was the only remaining individual in his row that hadn't moved. A small lump hit his throat as he gripped his pencil tightly and looked down at the first problem on his worksheet and trying to block out the chatter that had arisen.

Suddenly, Troy felt a tap on his back and jumped a little at the unexpected contact. He turned around half-way in his seat, and the very first thing he saw was a very large, very thick mass of curly hair. The second thing he saw was a pair of brown eyes looking directly at him from underneath his sheepdog-like locks.

"Do you want to work with me?" He asked, holding up his worksheet.

Troy was so surprised that he didn't speak for a moment. Then, words found him. "Yeah… ok." He said. He stood up and turned his desk around, trying to make as little noise as possible, until the front of his desk faced the front of his partner's. When he sat down, the boy spoke again.

"What's your name?" He asked.

Troy looked up. "Troy Bolton."

The curly-haired boy gave a little smile. "Chad Danforth. I haven't seen you around. First day?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah…"

"I thought so…" Chad said. "I could kinda tell, from what everyone else has been saying."

Troy's head snapped up from his worksheet. "What did they say about me?" He asked.

Chad picked up his pencil and proceeded to write his name at the top of his paper. "Just that you're some freaky know-it-all. No big deal."

Troy felt a pang in his stomach at the bluntness of his words. No big deal? "Look," He began. "If you're just here to - "

"Make you feel crappy like everyone else has been?" Chad finished as he looked up quickly, now beginning the first problem. "You don't have to worry about that. I know exactly how you're feeling right now. Trust me, I'm not one of those guys." He said, gesturing over to a group of jocks who were talking to some blonde girls in short skirts.

A mixture of relief and apprehension aroused in Troy. He was relieved that this guy wasn't treating him like dirt, but trust him? He'd just met him! But then, he _had_ made an effort to talk to Troy, and he seemed nice enough.

"So, what did you get for number one?" Chad asked a minute later as he stared down at his work. "I got negative fourteen, but I don't think it's right." He bushed his thick bangs out of his face, trying to get them to stay, and looked up at Troy, who was still trying to figure out if this whole 'good Samaritan' thing was a joke or not. Deciding that it wasn't from the sincerity of Chad's previous words, Troy took his paper and began to check his work. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all.

Maybe.

* * *

I was going to post this two days ago, but for some reason, it wouldn't let me upload the chapter, and boy was I pissed off. I must've tried at least twenty times in the past 3 days, only to have a huge box come up saying the document did not load. Then I came across this awesome fanfic that I was reading, and I decided that while I was here, I might as well try to upload it again. So, anyway...

I'm not so sure about this fanfic anymore. I'm trying REALLY hard to make everything work, but as I write the next chapter, things are beginning to get difficult. I didn't think writing a complete opposite of HSM would be hard, but... guess what? IT IS. I suggest that unless you really know what you want to write, don't try an Alternate Universe fic. Or, write a few chapters before posting, because it is proving to be very hard to write this as I go. So, no one hate me if my updates become less frequent. Just know that I'm trying my absolute hardest to make this work. One thing I'm definetly sure of is that this fanfic will not be anywhere near the length of OoOC. I'm thinking maybe 10-12 chapters at the most. And maybe a one-shot will pop up here and there. It all depends on how school goes for me.

Read and Review!


	3. My Heart Is Pounding & I Don't Know Why

**Chapter 3: And My Heart Is Pounding And I Don't Know Why**

"So, where did you come from?" Chad asked as Troy shifted his eyes from his paper to Chad's.

"Well," Troy began. "We've moved around a lot. My last school was Sun High, but I only stayed there from September till now."

"Why did you move so much?" Chad asked, taking his paper back from Troy and looking down at the corrections he'd made.

"My dad's job. His company made him transfer all over the country for God knows what reasons. Hopefully - " He was cut off as loud laughter erupted from the opposite side of the room, and they both turned to look at what had caused it.

The same group of muscular boys Chad had pointed to earlier were making the uproar. It looked like someone had said something incredibly funny, although it seemed like they were just laughing louder than normal to get attention. Chad rolled his eyes.

"Idiots…" He muttered.

Troy gave a small chuckle, but then stopped at the look on Chad's face. He didn't look amused at all. On the contraire, he looked like someone who was ready to kill. His fingers gripped his pencil so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, and his eyes were glazed over as he stared straight out.

"Chad? Are you ok?" Troy asked as he snapped his fingers in front of his face.

Chad came back to his senses after a moment, but still looked livid as he turned his head to look at the jocks again. "Yeah… I'm fine." But somehow, Troy knew he wasn't telling the whole truth.

A bell abruptly rang, and Troy stuck his worksheet inside his binder. Chad did the same, now looking a little bit calmer.

"Where are you going next?" Chad asked.

Troy checked his schedule. "Uh… History with Mrs. Sharmont."

Chad made a face. "Chemistry for me. I guess I'll see you around then." He said as he began to walk out the door.

"Wait, do you know where her classroom - " But before Troy could finish his sentence, Chad was gone.

"Move it." One of the jocks said as he shoved Troy out of the way, almost causing him to collide with the wall.

Troy regained his balance and adjusted his books, trying to shake off his annoyance as he followed everyone out of the classroom. Standing in the doorway, Troy tried to remember if he'd seen room 101 anywhere. Hoping that he needed to make a right, he began to go in that direction, once again attempting to stay out of everyone's way as others pushed through the crowd.

Almost too soon, Troy looked up and faced another dead end. Dropping his head to his chest, he sighed angrily as another bell rang. Again, he found himself completely alone. Fighting the urge to kick the nearest object in frustration, he began to jog back in the opposite direction, wondering if he'd ever be able to get to class on time.

_

* * *

_

_Click, click, click, click…_ The ricocheting sound of Gabriella's heels hitting the tiled floor echoed throughout the abandoned hallway. The metronome-like resonance almost put her in a sleepy sort of mode, and she fought to keep her eyes open as she walked. She knew she was late to class, but she honestly didn't care at the moment. She could afford one or two unexcused tardy's, seeing how she was almost never late to anything. Except these past few months… lateness seemed to become more frequent than normal.

She still couldn't believe he'd called her that late _again_. She'd been just short of begging him to hold off on late phone calls, due to the fact that on top of her grades, home life, friends, and preparing for the upcoming musical tryouts, she desperately needed as much sleep as she could get. Unfortunately for Gabriella, however, Andrew had a frustrating habit of letting practically everything she said go in one ear and out the other.

Gabriella sighed gently and closed her eyes as she walked, almost forgetting that she was walking for a moment. She was at a loss for what to do about him. She'd tried talking to him countless times, but that obviously wasn't working. Andrew wasn't much of a talker when it came to their relationship. He was more of a… a _physical _kind of guy, which Gabriella was finding less and less appealing with each moment they spent together. What she would give for a guy who actually _listened _for a change…

Almost too quickly and very unexpected, Gabriella felt something large and solid collide with her as she turned a corner. She gave a small yelp of surprise upon impact. Her previous sleepiness… yeah, that was all gone now. The object pinned her to the ground as their bodies crashed to the hard floor, both of them breathing hard with mixed alarm and fright. At first, Gabriella thought she'd been attacked by some senior who'd been lurking in the hallways, but then her eyes opened and vaguely recognized a familiar head of hair.

"Oh my God, I am _so_ sorry," The thing, which was in fact a boy, said apologetically as he quickly pushed himself off the floor and stood up. Gabriella's breathing increased slightly as she got a look at his beet-red face. It was that guy from her English class… Troy.

"I was just looking for my History class, and I'm like, at least ten minutes late, which is really bad for me because I'm never late for anything - I just didn't want to draw attention to myself after what happened earlier this morning, so that's why I was running, and I guess I just assumed that I was the only one late to class so I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, and - and I'm just… r-really sorry…" Troy said with such speed that it left Gabriella dazed and confused as she tried to piece everything Troy had said into separate sentences. About halfway through though, she gave up and just watched him talk. Strangely, she found his rambling incredibly captivating.

Troy, growing very embarrassed, let his eyes drift down again for a moment before stepping forward towards Gabriella, his face still red. He looked up, meeting her eyes, and held out his hand for her to take. It was then that Gabriella realized she was still on the floor.

She jerked out of her deep reverie and shook her head. "N-no, it's ok. I, um… I wasn't really watching where I was going either…" She raised her hand and hesitantly took Troy's as an immediate shock pulsed up her arm and down her back, filling her up with a strange, entirely new sort of warmth. He helped her to her feet again, their eyes staying connected all the while, and then let go when she was upright once more.

Gabriella quickly brushed herself off, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden and not sure why. She looked down, unable to meet his eyes, which added to her confusion.

"Hey, do I know you?" Troy asked, cocking his head slightly to get a better look at her face.

Gabriella's head shot up at his voice, almost giving herself whiplash in the process. "Um, yeah. We have English together." She replied as she let her arms fall to her sides.

Troy's face fell, and Gabriella immediately felt she shouldn't have said that.

"Oh… great." Troy said with a low voice, staring at the floor as his face grew red again. "Well, in that case…" And to Gabriella's surprise, he began to walk away from her down the hall.

"Hey! Wait!" Gabriella called, jogging a little to catch up with him. "Where're you going?"

Troy continued to walk. "To class."

"But you don't know where it is."

"I'll find it eventually." Troy responded in a dull tone.

Gabriella chuckled. "Yeah, and by the time you do, it'll be time for the next period to start." When he still didn't look up, Gabriella stepped in front of him and put her hands on her hips with impertinence.

"What's your problem?" Gabriella asked. She didn't like to be ignored.

This time, Troy's eyes raised fully to look at her. _He_ had a problem? What about this whole _school_?

"I don't have a problem."

"Oh, yes you do." Gabriella replied with a little grin. "Two seconds ago you wouldn't shut up, and now all of a sudden you don't want to say a word."

"I just… don't think you want to be seen with me." Troy said quietly, shifting a little in his place.

Gabriella turned her head slightly, raising her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"If we have English together, you should know why."

Gabriella felt the little grin slide off her face like butter, and a tiny weight dropped into her stomach. She took her hands off her hips and instead crossed them around her stomach. "I'm sorry about how people have been treating you."

_Whoa, where did that come from?_ Gabriella asked herself. Where _did_ that come from?

"It's not your fault." Troy replied as he too crossed his arms. "Apparently, it's mine."

"No, it's not." Gabriella said surprising herself again. Still, she continued, even though her head was telling her not to. "It's not your fault at all."

Their eyes met, and then, a small smile formed on his face and Gabriella felt warm again. As much as she wanted to look away, she found that she couldn't find it in herself to force her head to look anywhere else but into those blue eyes. What on earth was going on here?

Somehow, those simple words were the nicest things anyone had said to Troy all day, and aroused a small trace of happiness in him. "I'm Troy." He said, holding out his hand.

Gabriella felt a smile form on her lips, not knowing why, and held out her own hand too. "Gabriella Montez."

As their hands touched again, Gabriella felt the same shock wave travel down her body. After a few seconds, he pulled it back and Gabriella found herself a little sad at the coldness that replaced the warmth she'd just experienced. Then she mentally shook her head, wondering why she liked it so much.

"So, um… would _you_ happen to know where Mrs. Sharmont's room is?" Troy asked, his voice taking on its previous, quiet tone.

Gabriella gave a little chuckle and nodded her head. "Yeah, it's… um…" She shifted her eyes from side to side, trying to figure out how to put her directions in the simplest way possible.

"How about I just show you?" Gabriella suggested. _Wow_… Gabriella thought. _I'm just full of surprises today._ And it was true. She wasn't doing or saying or acting at all the way she normally would. No way would she make polite chit-chat with a new guy who'd plowed her over in the hallway, or chase after him when the loser finally left her alone, or even _apologize_ for the actions of her fellow peers. And now she was offering to show him the way to his classroom which was, in fact, a floor up and located at the other end of the building?

Troy nodded in agreement. "Thanks. I'm really sorry about this, but it's my first day and I'm still trying to get used to the system here. I'm so lucky to have run into you."

Gabriella felt a strange heat cover her cheeks, and immediately turned away to hide her blush. "It's nothing…" She muttered, but not unkindly. "Um, we need to go this way." And with that, the two of them began to walk.

An awkward silence settled over them as they walked, nothing to be heard except the repetitiveness of their footsteps on the tiled floor. Troy walked beside Gabriella far enough away that they couldn't touch, but close enough to carry a conversation if they wanted to. And for some reason, Gabriella wanted to.

"So," She said after the silence began to drive her crazy. "Do you, um… like it here so far?" _Oh my gosh, why did I ask him that?_ Gabriella mentally yelled, instantly shutting her eyes with regret.

"I'm sorry, that was a really stupid thing to say." Gabriella said quickly, turning her head to look at him as she apologized. Apologized. _Again._

Troy smiled. "No, it's ok. Um… well… honestly, the only good part of today was when I met this guy in my Geometry class." Troy added. "Chad, uh… Danforth I think."

Gabriella stopped in her tracks, catching Troy off guard as he turned to look at her. "Did you say, 'Chad Danforth?'" She asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, why?"

Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. He didn't need to hear it. Not now…

"Nothing, it's just… I think I know him." She finished lamely. As Troy looked at her and feeling she wasn't telling the whole truth, they began to walk again.

After a few minutes, Troy made more conversation to keep the awkward knot out of his stomach, and Gabriella kept it going, feeling a strange sense of calm in herself as they talked. They went on like this for a little while, until Gabriella realized that they were standing right in front of Mrs. Sharmont's history class.

"Um, well…" Gabriella began as she suddenly felt awkward again. "Here you go." She gestured towards the door. "And you're only about half an hour late."

Troy chuckled. "Yeah, but I think I'll be ok. I'm the new kid, remember? You on the other hand…"

"Eh, I'll be fine." Gabriella said as she gave a little laugh. Troy smiled, and Gabriella felt her eyes pummel towards the ground as if gravity had pulled them there, where she had no choice but to obey.

"Um, thanks for… getting me to class." Troy said with his quiet voice.

Gabriella looked up. "No problem. Uh, I guess I should… get to my class too."

"Yeah." Troy agreed.

"So… I'll see you tomorrow?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "Ok. Bye." And before he could make a fool out of himself again that day, he opened the door to his classroom and slipped inside without a sound except that of the door shutting behind him.

Gabriella stood still for a moment, wondering what was wrong with her. Wondering why she felt so… light. Subconsciously, she reminisced about the things Troy had said, the way he'd looked at her, the way he'd smiled…

And it was then that she realized she was holding her breath.

* * *

Well, I updated the story. I hope you're all happy about it! I'm so sorry, but it's taking me a really long time to figure out where I want this plot to go, plus I have a ton of school and I got a job, amd I'm going to be in my school's musical... so don't expect updates on this story too frequently unless I get a sudden burst of inspiration and write the whole night through. I think this chapter came out alright, not exactly how I pictured it, but close enough to post I guess. Alrighty, well... review!!!!!!


	4. Sing For Me

**Chapter 4: Sing For Me**

For three days, Gabriella avoided talking to Troy. During English the day after she'd helped him find his class, her and her friends picked new seats at the back of the classroom as far away from him as they could get. There, Taylor and Sharpay would giggle and gossip and then when there was nothing else to talk about, they would discuss all the 'freaks' and 'losers' that roamed about East High. Because of Troy's apparent brightness, he had been put into those categories - to Gabriella's slight unhappiness.

She would join in with the whispered taunting, although each word made her feel less like a person and more like a monster. As much as it hurt her to say such things about someone who didn't deserve it, Gabriella knew that she didn't have much of a choice. If she stood up for Troy, her friends would treat her the same exact way - and that was one thing she definitely didn't want to experience. Still, she felt horrible.

She didn't really _want_ to avoid Troy either. Strangely, she had found his company a little nice, even though it'd been brief. There was something very refreshing about him that she hadn't seen in a long time, and it left her craving more. Gabriella had forgotten how wonderful it could be to talk and have someone listen in return.

As hard as she was trying not to talk to Troy, Gabriella wished that he would speak up and talk to _her_. But right away Gabriella took him to be a much more introverted boy - not the kind who would walk up to any girl and start a conversation with her. As adorable as his shyness was, Gabriella couldn't help but wish he could be a little more outgoing.

And then when she found herself thinking these thoughts, the words grew harsher and more cruel and unkind than before so that she felt like she was turning into someone worse than her friends. And when she came home at the end of the day, she felt ten times more horrible. But she couldn't stop. After all, there _was_ the rules to think about…

And there was the small fact that she had a boyfriend.

* * *

"Hey Gabby, look who's coming." Taylor said with a suggestive grin as she pulled out a few books from her locker, which was a few doors down from Gabriella's and Sharpay's. Sharpay looked up and grinned too.

"Girl, what I would give for a guy to look at me that way." Sharpay said. "I wonder if Jason broke up with those other girls yet…"

Gabriella finally looked up from her locker and when she saw who her friends were talking about, her stomach fell and got that sick feeling deep in the middle. She forced down a groan, feigning happiness to force off any suspicions from her friends and tried to look happy to see her boyfriend.

Andrew Vincent was basically the captain of every sport in the school, and his muscles proved that he worked harder than any other player on the court or field. He was a year ahead of Gabriella, and one of the biggest guys in the senior class. One of his favorite pastimes was showing off his biceps to anyone who would stop to look - one of the many annoyingly jerk-like things he did. His eyes were locked on Gabriella and he looked at her almost hungrily, scaring her a little.

"Hey baby." He said in a thick, deep voice. Pulling her into his arms, he gave her a squeeze.

"Hi Andrew." Gabriella replied, trying to sound enthusiastic. However, she found that his hands traveling down her back and towards her legs was slightly infuriating. Taking his hands before they got that far, she smiled at her friends sweetly.

"Could you guys give us a minute?" Gabriella asked.

Sharpay and Taylor nodded.

"Sure." Said Taylor.

"You two take as long as you need." Sharpay said, and then gave Gabriella a little wink before the two disappeared down the hallway.

Andrew gave a sigh of relief. "God, I thought they'd never leave…" And without any warning whatsoever, he twisted Gabriella around and kissed her roughly, using his tongue to open her lips and plunge it in as deep as he could go.

Gabriella pulled away in an instant and detached herself from his arms angrily. "Andrew, I told you to stop doing that. You know it makes me uncomfortable."

Andrew sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Why? I'm your boyfriend, don't I get to do this kind of stuff?"

"No." Gabriella replied.

"So, what about…" His eyebrows raised. "You know…" He gave a suggestive smile, and Gabriella felt oddly violated.

"Andrew, I've told you, I'm just not ready yet." She said softly. "Can't you understand that?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You know what, I gotta go anyway. You wanna hang out after my practice?"

_Not if your idea of hanging out means sneaking out to buy beer… again._ "No, I can't. I have to practice for the musical tryouts tomorrow." She looked up at him with a hint of hope in her eyes. "You'll be there to watch, right?"

Andrew was already looking in another direction, staring off at a petite redhead walking down the hall. "You know I don't do that kind of crap. What'll the guys say if they find out I spent my afternoon watching a bunch of music-obsessed girls up on a stage?" He gave a short laugh. "See you around baby." He said, not giving her another look as he went off in the direction of the redhead.

Gabriella watched him go, knowing she shouldn't be so hurt by this. Andrew had never expressed any kind of interest in what she loved - why did she think this time would be any different?

But knowing what his response would always be didn't stop the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

* * *

Troy and Chad were the only ones who had gotten decent grades on their Geometry worksheets the past few days, so as a reward they got to have the period to do whatever they wanted while everyone else worked on twice as much homework. This gave the two of them time to talk more, being that they only had that one class together. Troy found himself looking forward to Geometry, knowing that he at least had one friend in this miserable place of a school. Chad was feeling somewhat the same way as well.

"So, Troy, now that you've been here for a little over four days, what do you think of East High?" Chad asked as he doodled on a piece of paper, glancing up at Troy.

Troy didn't need to think long about that answer. "It's not as great as I thought it would be, which is pretty much not that great to begin with."

"Curriculum too hard?"

"No," Troy said. "The work load is fine, it's just…" He wordlessly gestured over to the group of jocks and cheerleaders, laughing about something else as usual. "Those guys."

Chad nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they're pretty much assholes."

"And it's not just them. Everyone around here treats me like the plague. I don't understand what I did." Troy said.

"Well, that's easy." Chad relied, shading in something on his paper. "You came to East High."

"But why is that such a big deal? What is so wrong about answering a couple of questions in class or being good at studying?" Troy probed.

Chad sighed. "You know, I really don't feel like talking about this particular subject right now. Trust me, you're gonna figure it out sooner or later."

Troy sighed inaudibly. He wanted to figure it out now. It'd only been a week and he was sick of this place. If there was anything he could do to make the rest of his high school life more tolerable, he wanted to know what.

"So, any girls you're interested in yet?" Chad asked.

Troy scoffed. "Yeah, which ones? None of them talk to me."

"Doesn't matter if they talk to you, which ones do _you_ want to talk to?" Chad started drawing another object, waiting for Troy's answer.

Truthfully, there was a girl Troy wanted to talk to again. That girl in his English class - Gabriella Montez. He knew he'd made himself look like an idiot when he'd run her over in the hallway, but he strangely kept wishing he could redeem himself somehow. But there was a small problem: He couldn't talk to girls worth a damn. But he _had_ been able to talk to her pretty easily - a rare accomplishment for him. He just wondered if he'd be able to pull it off again.

Unfortunately, Gabriella seemed to have forgotten he existed.

"Not really." Troy lied. "Like I said, no one talks to me, so it's not like I'd even have a chance with anyone."

The bell rang, and everyone jumped out of their seats to leave except the two boys. Chad quickly threw the page he was drawing on and his books into his bag and gave Troy a quick smile.

"See you around," And with that, he was gone.

Troy followed out the door and to his next class, wondering why he even bothered to keep showing up.

Gabriella walked down the aisle that separated the many rows of red-cushioned chairs, listening to the muffled echo that reverberated off the walls. Soft chatter could be heard from the few dozen or so students already sitting in the first two rows, waiting for Ms. Darbus to allow them to dazzle her with their "talents."

Gabriella set her stuff down in the row behind the occupied rows, taking a seat with a little sigh. There were a lot more people trying out than there had been last year, but Gabriella wasn't too concerned about the competition. She recognized most of them from past tryouts, and none of them had a lot of singing or acting experience like she did. She didn't mean it in a rude way - she just knew that they wouldn't pose as much of a threat.

Her cell phone vibrated in her purse, and she quickly searching around until she found it, flipping it open to see who had texted her. Of course, it was Andrew, asking where she was. Gabriella closed her eyes, annoyed. He'd forgotten. Again. Just as she was about to send a reply, she decided against it and snapped her phone shut, tossing it back into her purse without another thought. She'd deal with him later. Right now, she had to focus.

Ms. Darbus seemed ready now. "Welcome all, to the fine chapel of the arts. I'm very pleased to see a few new faces, and… thrilled to see old familiar ones." On the contraire, Ms. Darbus looked less than pleased to see familiar, talent-less faces.

"Now before we start, I would like you all to know that we will be doing a musical that is unlike any that we've ever done before in the history of East High. It will be a challenge - tougher than the last three we've put on _combined_. There will be many sleepless nights in store for those who make the cut, and I will let you know now that I do not tolerate whining. You will be expected to know your lines front ways and back, and if you do not by the time we go into our final week of preparation… you _will_ be sorry. You signed yourself up for this the day you wrote your names on that sheet. This is what you're getting." There was silence in the auditorium as excited faces turned blank and frightened. One or two students looked like they were getting ready to make a run for the door.

Ms. Darbus smiled, unexpectedly, and sat down at her provided desk. "Shall we begin, if we're all ready?"

Gabriella grinned. She was definitely ready.

* * *

It was just as Gabriella had thought: These students had barely any talent at all. In fact, only three of them were given half-approving looks from Ms. Darbus, counting Sharpay. Gabriella had thought she'd done a pretty good job singing the solo Ms. Darbus had told her to perform, and when she checked her slip, Gabriella saw that she was to sing the same song. She was only a little troubled, finally coming to face her one true competition, but then decided she wasn't going to let it get in the way. Sharpay was her friend, and she wasn't about to let something as minor as the lead in the school musical destroy eight years of friendship.

Once Sharpay had finished her song, Ms. Darbus dismissed her and she made her way down to Gabriella, who was the only remaining student left in the auditorium.

"Great job Shar." Gabriella said as she gave her a hug. "Really."

"Thanks!" Sharpay responded. "Not as good as you'll do though."

"Are you staying?"

Sharpay shook her head. "Can't. I have a dentist appointment. Don't worry, you're gonna be awesome, just like you always are." And giving her another quick one-armed hug, she turned to leave. "I love you Gabs!" She said over her shoulder.

Gabriella smiled, but half-heartedly. She had almost gotten over Andrew not caring enough to come see her, but now she felt even more alone knowing her friend couldn't make time for her either. Giving herself a mental shake, she told herself to deal with it. It wasn't Sharpay's fault. At least Sharpay _did_ care about her.

"Ms. Montez, be a breath of fresh air for me and show me how it's done, please." Ms. Darbus called from her desk, taking a sip of water before pushing aside her clipboard. She knew she wouldn't have to judge Gabriella's performance. There was hardly anything to judge anymore.

Gabriella took a deep breath and stood up from her seat, walking up to Ms. Darbus and taking the lyrics from her as Ms. Darbus also stood. As Gabriella made her way up the stairs, Ms. Darbus positioned herself on the seat of the piano chair a few feet away from her desk. Looking up, she made eye contact with Gabriella.

"Whenever you're ready, Ms. Montez."

* * *

Troy couldn't believe what had happened. He felt so stupid. How could someone be eating their lunch one minute, and then end up asleep for three hours the next? And not just falling asleep anywhere, but _on top of the roof?_

Seeing that he had been unable to find Chad at lunch, Troy had wandered off to find a place to eat in peace without eyes glaring at him every few minutes. Almost by accident, he'd come across a door that led to a flight of stairs, and then happened to lead to the roof of the school. It had been peaceful up there - quiet… and with an aroma of flowering plants that covered the space. Troy remembered finishing his lunch and then lying down on his back, telling himself he'd rest for just a few minutes. The next time he'd looked at his watch, it had read 3:45. Not only had he missed his last three periods, but he'd also missed his bus ride home. He didn't even want to think about what his parents would say when he arrived home almost an hour late. No, make it an hour and a half, being that he'd now have to walk the five blocks home.

Troy threw a bunch of books in his bag and slammed his locker shut, racing down the hallway. He took a quick left turn, knowing that if he cut through the auditorium, he would get to the main entrance. He saw the thick black doors, and just as he was about to barrel through, he stopped dead in his tracks. He heard somebody playing piano. When he pushed his ear against the door to hear better, he made out another sound: someone was singing. He stood on his toes and peered through the small window to see who's voice it was, jumping a little out of surprise when he did. It was Gabriella.

He stood stock-still, listening to the muffled sound of her singing as if in a trance. He didn't know much about music, but he did know that she sounded _very_ good. No, 'good' was an understatement. She sounded amazing. At least to him anyway…

Without knowing he was doing it, Troy reached for the handle of the door and slowly pulled it open, being as quiet as he could as to not draw attention to himself. Instantly, the muffled garble turned into beautiful, beautiful music, and Troy could hear every note perfectly.

_We're soaring,_

_Flying'_

_There's not a star in Heaven that we can't reach -_

It was a slow song, but Gabriella filled it with life and intensity, and Troy found it hard to breathe as he listened. He sneaked glances through the window and smiled as she really got into the song. The way the stage lights hit her, reflecting off her long shiny hair… the way her eyes shone as she smiled…

The song ended all-too soon, and Troy quietly closed the door again but not taking his eyes away from the window, hoping to catch a few more peeks of Gabriella before turning to leave. He couldn't hear anything at all now, but from the way Ms. Darbus grinned and placed her hands on her shoulders as she talked, Troy knew that Gabriella had impressed her. Gabriella looked pretty pleased with her performance as well, although Troy noted that she kept looking over her teacher's back - almost as if she were waiting for somebody.

At last, Ms. Darbus prepared to leave, and before she was out of earshot, Troy heard Gabriella's voice faintly through the door. He couldn't quite make out what she'd said, but whatever it was, Darbus had said yes to her request. When Gabriella went to sit down at the piano, it became clear to Troy what she'd asked for.

Troy checked his watch. It now read 4:07. His parents were going to kill him. He wanted to leave, he really did. But just as he was about to, Gabriella began to play and he found himself being put back under her spell. She was playing a different song now, and although it seemed like a slow song, she played it almost excruciatingly slow and she looked as if she were trying to pour every ounce of emotion into the lyrics and notes she was playing. Troy opened the door a crack again, this time a bit wider than before and leaned forward so that he rested his head against the cool metal just below the window. He closed his eyes, letting her voice fill him up…

And then…

He fell.

Somehow, being the stupid idiot that he was, Troy had lost his balance and fell into the auditorium unceremoniously, just barely keeping himself from falling flat on his face and hitting the floor with his knees instead. Gabriella immediately stopped playing and jumped, her attention snapping towards the abrupt sound. She couldn't see the person's face, being that he was still trying to get back upright.

"Who's there?" She called out, standing up as she peered over the piano into the shadows.

Troy cursed inside his head, hating himself fiercely. He could've just walked away when he'd had the chance… but no, he'd had to stay and make a fool out of himself again. Lifting his head, he finally got back on his feet and swallowed nervously. He didn't see Gabriella's eyes light up for a quick moment after she'd discerned who he was, or her small grin at his embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to - I just walked by and heard you singing and it sounded really good, and I wanted to hear more of it so I kinda listened in by the door, but then I fell and… why are you laughing?" Troy asked, his humiliation turning into confusion as he noticed Gabriella begin to giggle.

"Nothing, it's just…" Gabriella gave a short laugh and shook her head from side to side with a smile. "You say you're sorry a lot, don't you?" She asked.

Troy didn't reply, but instead turned a deeper shade of pink. As Gabriella giggled again, he suddenly felt the strange urge to run as far away as he could and crawl under a rock.

"Um, I… I'm just gonna go now…" He muttered quietly, turning around to leave.

Gabriella quickly stepped out from behind the piano at this, her heart skipping a small beat. "No, wait, hold on a second." She called out as she walked over to him, where his hand had almost made it to the door. He turned around hesitantly, and Gabriella forced down a grin as she saw his shyness emerge.

"Did you really think I was good?" She asked.

Troy nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean, I don't know that much about music, but from what I do know, you sounded really, really great."

Gabriella had gotten many compliments on her singing in the past from hundreds of people - people she'd known much longer than she'd known Troy. But somehow, hearing that one simple, sincere note of praise made Gabriella feel light as a feather.

"Thanks." She said softly. She smiled at him. "What about you? Do you do any singing?"

Troy chuckled. "Oh, no. No, I don't think I'd be good at that kind of thing."

"What do you mean? Have you ever even tried?" Gabriella asked.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck with mounting discomfort. "Well, no, but -"

"Then how do you know if you're good at it or not?" Gabriella pointed out.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to hear me sing." Troy replied. But from the look on Gabriella's face, he knew he'd just walked into a trap.

"I'm not so sure about that." Gabriella said with a sly grin. "Come on, sing me something."

Troy turned faintly pink again. "No, I - I really don't want to."

"Please?" Gabriella asked, her bottom lip sticking out.

Troy laughed nervously. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on, you can't be _that_ bad."

"I don't want you to laugh at me." Troy said simply.

Gabriella felt a small pang hearing this, and guilt inched its way up her body until she felt herself almost cringe with disgust remembering the things she'd said with her friends that very day.

"I promise, I won't laugh." Gabriella said to him. She said it so seriously that Troy almost believed her for a second.

"Well…" Troy said slowly.

"Great! Come on," Gabriella said enthusiastically as she pulled a reluctant Troy over by the arm to the piano. Before he'd even had a chance to protest, Gabriella had started to play the beginning of the slower version of the song she'd been singing only moments ago.

"I'll sing you the first few bars, and then we'll go back to the beginning and you can try it." Gabriella instructed. She did so, and when she got to the chorus, she stopped and looked up at him.

"Do you think you can do that?" She asked.

Troy could already feel the heat creeping up his neck and face. "Look, Gabriella -"

"Troy, you already said you'd do it, and I told you I wouldn't laugh. Don't think so much about it. Just… let the music flow." Gabriella said gently. "Ok?"

Troy closed his eyes and sighed, but nodded, trying to take her advice. "Ok."

Gabriella began to play again, and Troy cleared his throat uneasily as he waited for his cue. Praying that he didn't sound completely horrible, Troy opened his mouth and began to sing.

"_It's hard to believe, that I couldn't see… you were always there beside me,_

_thought I was alone, with no one to hold… but you were always there beside me,"_

Gabriella's head snapped up as she heard his voice, shocked that it was really him singing. Her fingers hit a wrong note when her eyes met his, and she hastily looked back down at the piano to correct her mistake. Still, she couldn't help but steal another look at him as he sang his next line, and then, she heard her own voice join in.

_"__This feeling's like no other, I want you to know… that I've never had someone who knows me like you do… the way you do… and I've never had someone as good for me as you… no one like you… so lonely before, I finally found…"_

Gabriella looked up at Troy, and felt her stomach twist unexpectedly as he looked back, his face expressionless and serious.

_"What I've been looking for…"_

Gabriella turned her attention back to the piano and finished the song, sitting very quiet and still. His voice… she'd never heard one like Troy's before. Although it wasn't something incredibly over the top and spectacular, it was still a very special voice. Listening to him made Gabriella feel calm and at ease - something she hadn't experienced much of in a long time. She felt the twist in her stomach again, and found that she somewhat enjoyed it.

After a few seconds, a grin erupted on her face and she turned to face Troy.

"You are a liar! There's no way _that_ was you never singing before!" Gabriella exclaimed, her smile a little larger than she'd intended.

Troy gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck again. "It wasn't _that_ good…"

"Yes it was! I swear, if more guys had your voice, maybe we'd be able to get through this musical in one piece - "

"I agree." A new voice echoed throughout the auditorium and made both of the teens jump. Both their heads turned and their eyes rested on the figure of Ms. Darbus walking down the middle aisle towards them, her face positively aglow.

"Mr. Bolton, if I had only known that you were so talented in music, I would've forced you to sign up for our musical." Ms. Darbus said. "But I will allow your little performance to pass as a tryout. What do you think, Troy? I have a lead role with your name on it, if you're willing."

Both Gabriella and Troy were stunned with disbelief. It was hard to tell which one looked more shocked, although Troy did suddenly take on a pale hue at this proposition. Gabriella looked just as astonished, but a small thrill moved about in her stomach that could've been interpreted as happiness.

"I…I-I don't know about this…" Troy stammered.

"I do." Ms. Darbus said. "It's been quite a while since I've heard a male voice like yours, and I'm not about to let it go to waste. Don't you think so, Gabriella?"

Gabriella could only nod, unable to find words.

"Let me put it this way, Mr. Bolton: I am desperate. You would be doing me a great favor if you took this part. However, I will not force you to do so." Ms. Darbus said in a gentler tone. "It is your decision."

Troy hesitated for a moment, not really knowing why. If he were at any other school and he'd been offered this chance, he would've turned it down in an instant. People like him weren't made to be on stage, and he knew it. Still, there was something inside him that told him to take this chance. As his glance drifted to Gabriella, he felt another wave of heat wash over him and somehow was even more convinced that he should do this.

Troy took a breath. "Do you think I could have a few days to think it over?" He asked.

Ms. Darbus nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I'll still have hope then. I will give you until Monday. And Ms. Montez, I expect you to push Mr. Bolton in the right direction, if you know what I mean." She gave her a small smile and turned to leave.

After a moment of silence, Troy faced Gabriella. "Well… what do you think?" He asked.

Gabriella paused as she looked up at him, still feeling a little shocked at Ms. Darbus's proposition. She knew that the musical desperately needed a good male voice for the lead role, and that if they didn't find one soon, the musical would have to be abandoned - something that had never occurred before. If so, Gabriella would be crushed. She didn't know what she'd do if she had to wait until the spring musical to put her talents to use. Then again… if Troy did this, the two of them would have to spend a large amount of time together, being that she was the other lead role. Strangely though, she didn't find this view very disappointing at all.

Giving him a genuine smile, she nodded. "I think you should do it."

"Really? You think I'm good enough to be in a musical?"

Gabriella grinned again. "Troy, I've been doing these school musicals for a really long time now, and I can honestly tell you that I've never heard a voice like yours before. Besides, we _really_ need you. So… what do you say?"

Troy thought for a moment, but was still at a loss. "I just need the weekend to think." He said.

Gabriella nodded and closed the top of the piano, standing up. "I'll take it." Picking up her bag and then giving him one last smile, she turned to leave. "Bye Troy." She said. As he gave her a smile in return, Gabriella felt her stomach lurch and she quickly had to turn around to hide her flushed face as she headed for the door. She imagined him watching her leave, his eyes on her back, and strangely, she found that she wouldn't mind if he was.

* * *

So Sorry for not updating. What can I say? School just ended, I've been busy, plus I went into a kind of HSM funk where I couldn't write anything. Hopefully I'll be able to find time to update more. Thank you for those who didn't give up on this story! 


	5. Liar Liar

Chapter 5: Liar Liar

"Mom, Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?" Troy asked, gripping his fork a little tighter as he looked up from his dinner. It was Sunday night, and he'd been avoiding asking them the question for two full days, unsure of where to begin and a little worried about their reactions once they heard what he was asking, but tomorrow was Monday and he knew Darbus would be expecting an answer from him. He'd never procrastinated on anything until now, and he couldn't understand how people could tolerate being so unprepared. Of course, now he knew how easy it could be to fall into.

Kelly Bolton was just sitting down to her own plate and looked up at her son. "Sure, honey. About what?"

Jack Bolton raised his eyes as well, secretly hoping that Troy would begin to tell them all about school and the many friends he was making and was now coming up with plans to hang out with them all like any normal teenage boy would do. He'd hated how his job affected Troy so much socially, and blamed himself for refusing to stand up to his boss and finally settle down with a permanent job - he'd always wondered how different Troy would be if he had.

"Well," Troy began, hesitating a little as he played around in his mashed potatoes with his fork. "I kind of wanted to get both of your opinions on something." After another moment of silence, Troy blurted out, "I think I'm trying out for the school musical."

Kelly's eyes widened for a moment as she paused with her drink halfway to her mouth, Jack's face wielding a slightly confused expression.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

Jack paused. "You want to be in a musical?"

Troy tapped his fingers on the table nervously. "Actually, uh, I was kind of offered he lead role."

"The lead?" His mother exclaimed. "Troy, that's wonderful, but… do you even sing?"

Troy then felt a sheepish grin form on his face. "I found out I can a few days ago."

"Well I think it's a wonderful idea. Don't you, Jack?" Kelly asked her husband.

Jack still looked confused. "Troy, son, it's not that I'm not happy you have this opportunity, but do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into? I mean, don't take this personally, but you have never done something like this before and you don't exactly have they best self-confidence in the world and being in a musical is going to take a lot of it."

"I know, dad…"

"Jack - "

"I'm not trying to bring you down, Troy. I'm really not. I just want to be realistic with you. Now if you really want to do this and really believe you can, then I'm all for it. One hundred percent, I swear. But you have to give one hundred and ten percent, because it's going to take a lot of work and you can't back out once you say yes. Have you given it a lot of thought?"

Troy nodded. "I really have."

"Just out of curiosity, how did this happen? What led you to consider being in a musical?" Kelly asked.

Troy almost smiled, but knew his father would ask more questions that he really didn't feel like answering. Gabriella's face popped into his head, smiling, that hair flowing down her back…

Troy cleared his throat. "Um, it just sort of was an accident." Hoping he didn't look as embarrassed as he felt, Troy began to pick at his food again.

"So, what do you think about all this?" Jack asked.

Troy ate a few bites, stuffing his mouth to give him a few moments to think. He'd made up a mental list inside his head full of pros and cons of the situation. On the con side, his little duet could be a one-time thing, a fluke, and then Ms. Darbus would realize she had picked the wrong person for her lead and he would humiliate himself in front of the whole school come opening night. Plus, he'd have to handle even more jerks whispering about him in the hallway, which he really would rather avoid. Then there was his whole stage-fright thing that he'd never gotten over as a kid and the ever-constant fear that he would say or do something stupid.

On the pro side, Gabriella would be there.

Whenever Troy had gone through the con side of the list and thoroughly convinced himself he could never do this, and then thought of Gabriella right afterwards, suddenly the con side seemed so small and unimportant. Just the thought of being with her in the same room for a few hours after school, talking with her like he had before, made him feel a warmth inside that suddenly gave him a burning desire to see her face to face. And he felt confident that he could do it, if Gabriella was singing with him.

Troy smiled, nodding his head. "I want to do this."

Jack smiled in return, sticking a piece of steak in his mouth and giving him a thumbs-up sign. "Then go for it."

* * *

The next day, Gabriella was opening her locker door trying to find her English homework before the bell rang. Although she was a favorite student of Ms. Darbus's, she knew how strict she was about late work and didn't want to get on her bad side. Fumbling through her binder, a hand on her lower back caused her to shriek and drop a handful of papers as she whirled around. Andrew was behind her, smirking as he placed his hands on her hips.

"Andrew, why do you do that?" Gabriella asked exasperatedly, detaching his arms and bending down.

He watched her, not offering any help at all. "Because I get bored around you sometimes and need to entertain myself. Why didn't you call me this weekend?"

Trying not to let her hurt show, Gabriella snatched up her English homework before it was trampled by a pair of feet and quickly stood up. "I got busy." She said with a vinegary tone. She turned away from him and positioned her foot onto the edge of the inside of her locker, using her knee as a table to organize her notebook back into order. Andrew came up behind her, his mouth dangerously close to her ear giving her unsatisfying chills.

"Well you better not be busy today, because I have something special planned for us." Andrew said with a low growl.

"I can't. I have practice." Gabriella said, wishing he would just go.

Andrew rolled his eyes and stepped back. "Whatever, you go do your little tap numbers and I'll go find someone who _really_ knows how to have fun." Muttering curses under his breath, he stormed off leaving Gabriella hurt but relieved.

She turned her head back to her notebook, and found that her homework was gone again.

The bell suddenly rang, telling everyone that they had three minutes to get to class and students began racing to their destinations. One of them roughly collided with Gabriella's shoulder and sent her notebook tumbling out of her arms and the floor, papers flying everywhere. Gabriella felt tears spring to her eyes when normally she would've just been slightly irritated, but her conversations with Andrew always seemed to make any situation that followed worse than they really were.

"Gabriella!" A voice called out.

Gabriella looked up and felt her heart lift somewhat as Troy's face came into view and she quickly swallowed the lump in her throat as she feigned a smile. "Hey, there." She said, sounding surprisingly calm.

When Troy got to her, he smiled back and then looked around at the mess. "Whoa, what happened here?"

Still on her knees, Gabriella gave a half-grin. "Oh, just some guy running into me. No big deal. I seem to attract a lot of those, don't I?"

Troy chuckled, kneeling down and picking up some papers that had somehow scattered a few feet away. Gabriella's smile was genuine this time, her gaze lingering on him a second longer than it should've until she began to pick up more papers. Troy hadn't seen a thing.

"So, uh, I made a decision about the musical." Troy said, trying to sound casual as they both stood up with a handful of papers.

Gabriella stopped and looked up at him. "You did?"

Troy nodded. "I'm going to do it."

Gabriella let out a sudden squeal of joy, catching the eye of one or two passing students as her smile stretched from ear to ear. "Troy, that's so great! Ms. Darbus is going to be ecstatic!" Not thinking about what she was doing, she threw her arms around Troy's shoulders in an unexpected hug and squeezed tightly. "You have no idea how happy I am."

Troy awkwardly patted her back, clearing his throat. "Um, r-really?"

Gabriella suddenly realized where she was and who she was holding. Quickly stepping back, she tried to hide her embarrassment although she could feel the heat rise. "Uh, yeah, yeah, because… well, we've really needed a guy lead and if we didn't find one we'd have to cancel the musical. So…" Her sentence hung in the air, creating an uncomfortable silence.

Troy finally broke it. "We should probably get to class." He pointed out.

Gabriella snapped back to reality, nodding fervently. "Yeah." Her voice was suddenly squeaky as she shut her locker and the two began to walk down the hall.

"So, what should I do after school today? I mean, where do I go?" Troy asked.

"Oh, um, we can just go to the auditorium and wait there. Usually Ms. Darbus splits us up into groups so we can work on our singing parts and then we go to the main stage for acting." Gabriella replied.

Talking about the musical was suddenly making Troy very uneasy and slightly sick to his stomach. "O-ok." He said shakily.

Gabriella noticed and they stopped just outside their classroom door. She turned to face Troy and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You're gonna be great, and once everyone hears you sing, they'll think you're great too. Just relax, and try not to psyche yourself out."

Troy felt a little better at her words of wisdom, but even more revitalized by the way she looked at him. Her smile gave him a slight chill that took him a bit of effort to force down. Before he could respond, the late bell finally rang and the two of them jumped. Gabriella opened the door and they both rushed in, picking their seats just as Ms. Darbus asked for last Friday's homework. Gabriella muttered a quick hi to her friends before passing up her crinkled, slightly damp worksheet knowing that at least she wouldn't get a zero.

"Class," Ms. Darbus began. "I am suffering from a very intense, very unfortunate head-cold, so there will be a free period today while I rest in the teacher's lounge. I am trusting you to be the mature juniors that you are and not make a zoo out of this _one-time only_ opportunity. A substitute will be here shortly, therefore I bid you all good day." As soon as she walked out of the classroom, chatter began to rise and students shifted their desks around to face others as everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some began tearing out unfinished homework's, scribbling in answers off of their friend's and turning them in on top of the pile with the others. Troy remained in his seat, having no one to talk to and no homework to finish.

Gabriella sat at the back with Taylor and Sharpay, hardly hearing their conversation. She was too busy watching Troy and feeling a strange mixture of glee and pity. It wasn't until Taylor's snapping fingers flashed in front of her eyes that Gabriella heard anything they were saying.

"Gabriella! Hello? What's going on in there?" Taylor asked.

"Huh?"

"I just asked you a question and you were like, in a whole other world."

"Oh, sorry. What was the question?" Gabriella apologized.

"We were both wondering where you were that made you so late." Taylor explained.

"What interest me more is what you were doing with _him_." Sharpay asked, emphasizing the 'him' part as she pointed at Troy.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah, what _were_ you doing?"

Gabriella gave a short laugh. "Guys, it was nothing. He helped me pick up a few papers and we were late. So what?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh, and now you just happen to be completely focused on East High's newest loser?" Sharpay smirked and laughed unkindly.

Gabriella's eyes floated down as she bit her tongue. "He's not a loser." She said, barely audible.

"What was that?" Sharpay asked.

Gabriella looked up. "Nothing."

"Oh my God, he's coming over here." Taylor muttered. "Someone go throw an English book for him to fetch."

Sharpay giggled and Gabriella felt sick as she turned to face Troy just as he reached them.

"Hey, Gabriella." Troy said with a hint of apprehension in his voice. Gabriella wanted to smile at how cute it was, but forced down the urge to and instead looked at him like she would if a person off the street came up to her.

Troy continued. "Um, mind if I sit here with you guys?"

Before Taylor or Sharpay could do or say anything Gabriella jumped in. "Actually, Troy, my friend Sharpay here is having a little issue that we need to work out and it's kind of private. Girl stuff, you know." She let out a little laugh that she hadn't intended but quickly caught herself. "You wouldn't be interested."

For a second he looked crestfallen, but then understanding passed his face. "Right, I guess I'll just talk to you later then." Giving a small wave, he returned to his seat and Gabriella almost wanted to get up and follow him.

"Oh thank God," Taylor said. "I almost thought he wouldn't leave. That was brilliant Gabbs."

"What did he mean when he said he'd talk to you later?" Sharpay asked.

"Oh, well," Gabriella started. "He's kind of in the musical. Ms. Darbus gave him the lead role."

"What?" Taylor and Sharpay said together, their mouths dropping.

"She gave it to _him_?" Taylor said.

"Is she crazy?" Sharpay responded.

Gabriella shrugged. "She said he was good, and we had no other choice. At least the musical will still go on."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "We're doomed."

Taylor nodded. "But if Gabriella keeps playing her cards right, we won't have to interact with him unless absolutely necessary. Psh, 'I'll talk to him later.' Girl, you really know how to lie." Her and Sharpay giggled and began to make more comments as Gabriella remained silent. Her eyes wandered back to Troy and she felt her stomach turn with guilt as she saw how isolated he was.

"Yeah," She said softly. "I guess I do."

* * *

Yeah it's been awhile again. I really have no other excuse except writers block and sheer lack of time. So sorry if this chapter is a little weak, but as I've said I'm still trying to figure out where this plot is going. I think I have a pretty good idea where the next few chapters are going to go, but you all know how things like that change... the 2nd movie really got me back into writing again, so hopefully there will be a quicker update sometime soon. Thanks for reading!!!


	6. MiddleSchool Emotions

**Chapter 6: Middle-School Emotions**

The next two weeks passed by quickly, almost too quickly for Troy and Gabriella. Musical practices were keeping them busy being that they were the lead's, and Troy was beginning to understand what his father had meant when he'd said Troy would have to give one hundred and ten percent. He'd assumed that being in a school production wouldn't take all that much preparation or thought - that it was just reading some lines and singing a few songs on key. But that all changed on the first day of practice when Ms. Darbus split the cast into groups where they would practice a little something called 'blocking.' At his blank stare, Gabriella kindly explained that blocking was basically when the director told you where to stand on stage during certain parts of a scene and how your body language played into the character. After hearing this, Troy decided it couldn't be too difficult to figure out, but was once again very wrong. Ms. Darbus would tell him to stand somewhere, then change her mind, then change her mind again, and again, so that by the time practice was over they had gotten little to no acting accomplished. But Troy had no problem with this because for three whole hours he got to spend time with Gabriella. Something happened to him when he was around her, something he really liked. He felt different when they were in the same room, singing together. It was like he was a different person around Gabriella - more confident, more at ease, less jumpy, and he could look out at the auditorium quarter-full of people and not feel as much fear as he used to. Of course, he still had a long way to go before he would be as comfortable on stage as Gabriella, but he was making progress little by little. And he found that he really did enjoy being on stage and singing. With Gabriella there singing with him, looking up at him with that special smile of hers, Troy felt normal for the first time since coming to East High.

"So, Troy, wanna tell me where you've been lately?" Chad asked as the two friends sat down to lunch. He reached into his brown paper bag and pulled out a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a turkey sandwich, his curls bouncing as he took a large bite.

Troy set his lunch tray down and prodded today's mystery meat loaf with his fork before choosing to eat a scoopful of corn instead. "Ok, but you have to promise me you won't laugh."

"Ok," Chad mumbled with his mouth full of sandwich. "Go."

Troy paused. "Well, you know the winter musical?"

Chad nodded.

"Well, I'm kind of in it." Troy said. "The lead role."

Chad stopped chewing for a moment, raised his eyebrows, swallowed and leaned forward in his seat. "You?"

"Yeah. Is that really stupid?" Troy asked.

Chad shook his head. "No, man. If you want to do it then who am I to tell you otherwise? But I gotta ask, how in the world did you get signed up for the East High winter musical?"

Troy told him the story, but when he mentioned Gabriella Chad held up a hand to stop him. "Wait, Gabriella as in Gabriella _Montez_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Dude, you can't be around her." Chad said, stuffing a chip in his mouth.

"What are you talking about, she's really great once you - "

"_No_ man," Chad said forcefully. "I mean you _can't_ be around her."

Troy was taken aback at Chad's sudden change in tone. "Why not?"

"Because she's a bitch." Chad said.

"Hey!" Troy said with equal force. "Don't say that about her! You don't even know her."

"I know her better than you do." Chad replied.

"Oh yeah? Then if you're such great pals then why aren't you sitting over there with her?" Troy said gesturing over to the opposite side of the cafeteria where Gabriella and her friends were chatting animatedly.

"I never said we were friends. I just said I know how people like her are." Chad said with a low voice, eating another chip.

"I don't understand. What do you mean 'people like her?'" Troy asked.

Chad hesitated, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. "Just trust me on this, Troy. You don't want to get involved with her crowd."

"Well we're both in the musical and I can't back out, so I don't have much of a choice." Troy said. He tried again to discern what his mystery meat really contained but then gave up, taking a sip of his soda instead. "What are you so worried about?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Chad said.

Troy stared at him a moment before he continued to eat his lunch and Chad started to talk about their new Geometry lesson, turning back into the fun, happy Chad Troy had befriended. But he couldn't help but wonder what it was Chad was hiding, and why the mention of Gabriella made him act the way he did.

Gabriella hummed to herself as she made her way to History class, feeling happier than she'd felt in a long time. Her mind kept wandering back to last night's practice and the progress they were making in only two weeks. Somehow, this musical seemed different than the others she'd performed in. Before, she'd had to act alongside guys that were complete jerks and pretend to be happy around them because that was what her part called for. But when she was on stage with Troy, she didn't need to pretend at all. She was just genuinely happy. She'd forgotten what it felt like not to have any worries, even if it was only for a few hours a day. Being with Troy, it felt like days could go by and she wouldn't have minded in the least as long as they were singing together. And she noticed that little by little he was loosening up. Of course, he was still the same shy Troy, but more like a 2.0 version with new features.

There was still one thing Gabriella couldn't understand. Whenever she was near Troy, she began to act differently. Chills, sudden waves of heat, a jittery voice - on rare occasion she'd even been at a loss for words when Troy started up a conversation. It completely annoyed her that she felt like a middle school girl again, but strangely invigorated her and gave her a heightened excitement whenever he walked into the auditorium.

But then Andrew would call in the middle of practice or try to meet up with her between classes, ruining her good mood. He'd even followed her to practice once and tried to get her to skip and go for a ride with him, finally leaving after a big blow-out that attracted nearly everyone in the auditorium's attention. When Gabriella went to sit down at the back waiting for Ms. Darbus to arrive, she was nearly in tears. But no one noticed. No one except Troy - at least, Gabriella thought. Out of the corner of her eye she could've sworn Troy was watching her with what looked like concern in his eyes. But she must've imagined it because when she turned to look at him to see for sure, he had walked away. Somehow that had hurt her more than her and Andrew's fight.

But today was looking up to be a good day. She hadn't heard from Andrew in almost three days and she felt fresh and energized even though it was almost time for the last bell to ring. She was almost to her class when she heard someone call out to her.

"Hey, Gabriella!"

Gabriella could pick his voice out from a crowd by now and turned around to face him with a happy smile.

Troy noticed her expression. "Well someone looks happy today." He commented.

Gabriella grinned. "It's been a good day. What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if we had practice after school. I didn't have time to check my schedule this morning." Troy said.

"Actually we don't."

Troy's shoulders slumped and he groaned. "Oh man, I was really looking forward to it too."

"You really like doing this, don't you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah… I do."

Gabriella gave him a knowing grin. "I told you so!"

Troy gave that adorably sheepish grin of his but didn't reply. There was a pause of silence. "Well, I have to get to class, so I guess I'll just see you on Monday."

Gabriella nodded too, her smile a little less prominent now. "Yeah, guess so."

Troy began to walk down the hall, Gabriella still watching after him with a bit of sadness. She fought to shake it off, but recently she had found it harder and harder to do so once those feelings began to develop. Even more recently it had grown harder for her to come up with an adequate reason to ignore them. All of a sudden, she heard herself call him back.

"Hey, Troy?"

Troy turned around and walked back. "Yeah?"

Almost immediately as Troy's eyes connected with hers, the words flew out of Gabriella's head completely and she just stared up at him, her mouth slightly open as she searched her brain for the question she'd had a few seconds ago. Why did he look so good all of a sudden?

"Gabriella?"

"Do you want to come over to my house after school today?" Gabriella blurted, the words rushing out in one thick sentence.

_Oh my God, that was not what I wanted to ask. _Or maybe it was… now that she thought about it, it didn't seem like that bad of an idea.

"I just mean, we could use some work on one or two of the scenes and I thought maybe…" Gabriella felt herself regress back to middle school again, her knees quivering slightly as she fought for control.

"Sure." Troy responded.

Gabriella looked up, a little surprised at how quickly he'd replied. "Really?"

"Yeah, I really do need some work on a few scenes, and I don't have anywhere to be." Troy said.

Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, but was lost for words and instead cleared her throat. "O-Ok, well uh, let's meet at my locker right after class and we'll go."

"Ok. Sounds good. See you later." Troy said with a smile and started walking to his last period, the grin on his face growing with a new spring in his step as the full realization of what had just happened hitting him a few seconds later. He was going to spend time with Gabriella. One-on-one time with a very beautiful, very funny, very incredible girl. No Darbus, no cast, just the two of them.

And then it dawned on Troy, and his insides turned to liquid and churned about in his body with each step he took as he stepped into his classroom and slid into his seat. He was suddenly feeling sick to his stomach, feeling dreadfully nervous and slipping back into his old skin which he had yet to completely shed.

He was going to spend time with Gabriella - a very beautiful, funny, incredible girl. Alone.

That one solitary thought stuck with Troy all through his last period, haunting him like a nightmare and causing every ounce of excitement and happiness evaporate as he realized what he had gotten himself into. Suddenly, Troy didn't feel so confident anymore and remembered all of his past failed attempts to talk to girls and the old familiar heat rushed back into his cheeks with embarrassment at his memories. Why on earth had he agreed to this? Why did she have to look so pretty with her big brown eyes so hard to say no to? Even more, why did she have this effect on him?

When the last bell finally rang, Troy gathered his things and headed to his locker, trying not to hurry but also knowing Gabriella probably wouldn't appreciate him being late either. As a result he ended up moving in a sort of jog/walk that made him look a little more than ridiculous. Almost too quickly he was at his locker and packed up the books he needed. As he headed in the opposite direction to Gabriella's locker he tried to calm himself down. This wasn't something he should be worrying about. It was just a study date - no, not a date. Just… studying lines. Together, alone, most likely in her bedroom…

He shook his head, hardly believing he had just thought that. His palms were now slightly sweaty and he wiped them on his pants as he went along the hallway. Finally he saw her, packing up her bag and biting the bottom of her lip as she struggled to remember what else she had for homework. God, she looked so cute… Troy shook his head again and took a deep breath, thinking of all the reasons why he shouldn't be so worried.

He couldn't think of a single reason.

"Hey." Troy said once he'd gotten within her hearing range.

Gabriella looked up and smiled. "Hey! You ready to go?"

Troy nodded and feigned a casual look. "Sure." Maybe acting would come in handy in life after all.

Wow... so much for quick updates. To all those who have waited for this - I am SOOOOOOOOOO sorry!! I completely forgot about this story and a year later, I found the file for chapter 6. I am going to try really hard to update more and maybe get a few more fics out within the next few months, so don't think I haven't forgotton about all my readers!! Thanks for reading!!


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